Crew News & Notes - October 6

On the heels of a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in the U.S. Open Cup Final at Seattle Tuesday, the Crew returns to league play on Friday, Oct 8, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., where it will face the Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. (ET). It will be the Crew's fourth match in four different cities in 10 days.

Friday’s match will be televised live regionally on ONN-TV, with Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington calling all the action. It can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN, with Neil Sika behind the microphone, as well as in Spanish on La Mega 103.1-FM, featuring Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo on the call.

The Fire sits in fifth place in the eastern conference, 11th overall, with a record of 7-11-8 (29 pts.). Chicago is coming off a difficult 3-0 loss to FC Dallas last Saturday (Oct. 2) that all but dimmed the Fire hopes for postseason play. Chicago faces an uphill battle and only a win will keep the Fire alive in the playoff race.

The Fire is led by Guatemalan midfielder Marco Pappa who has tallied seven goals so far this season, and by midfielder Patrick Nyarko who has eight assists. Eight-time All-Star and former Crew forward Brian McBride, who is retiring following this season, will also be on hand to give the Crew defense a run for its money.

The Crew enters the match following Tuesday's Open Cup Final, which was preceded by a 0-0 draw at Crew Stadium against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday (Oct. 2). The Black & Gold secured a spot in the playoffs for the third consecutive year and will look to regain the lead in the Eastern Conference and improve its record of 13-7-7 (46 pts.)

The Crew leads the season’s series with Chicago, having defeated the Fire 2-1 at Crew Stadium on July 3. Two first half goals by Adam Moffat and Jason Garey proved to be enough to secure the win. The Crew’s all-time record against the Fire is 11-17-13 and 5-9-7 when playing in Chicago

CREW FALLS 2-1 IN LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP FINAL TUESDAY AT QWEST FIELD

Sanna Nyassi scored twice as Seattle Sounders FC defended their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title with a 2-1 win over the Crew Tuesday before a crowd of 31,311 at Qwest Field, which is largest ever for a final in the tournament’s history. Midfielder Kevin Burns opened the scoring in the 25th minute but Sanna Nyassi tied the game for Seattle 13 minutes later. Nyassi found the back of the net again in the 66th minute to give the Sounders the 2-1 lead. Robbie Rogers almost found an equalizer in the 85th minute when he rattled a shot at the crossbar from a perfect cross by Frankie Hejduk.

KEVIN BURNS SCORES HIS FIRST PROFESSIONAL GOAL

Crew midfielder Kevin Burns reached a personal milestone on Tuesday night in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. Burns scored his first goal as a professional soccer player in the 25th minute of the match after a great finish on a ball he received by Steven Lenhart.

INTERNATIONAL CALL-UPS FOR RENTERIA AND FRANCIS

Emilio Renteria and Shaun Francis have been called up to their respective national teams for a series of International friendly matches. Renteria will join the Venezuelan National team for a pair of matches against Bolivia (Oct. 7) and Mexico (Oct. 12). Francis has been called into the Jamaican National team camp for a friendly match against Trinidad & Tobago (Oct. 10). This is Francis’ first call-up to the senior squad while Renteria already has five caps for Venezuela.

CREW NOW SECOND IN CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP WITH ONE GAME TO PLAY

Following its 2-1 setback at Municipal on Sept. 29 in CONCACAF Champions League play, the Crew now sits second in Group B with a 3-2-0 record and nine points. Mexico’s Santos Laguna, which defeated Joe Public (Trinidad) 5-1 on Wednesday, leads the group with 10 points (3-1-1). Municipal climbed to eight points, but will have to travel to Mexico to face Santos in its final match on Oct. 19. Columbus will travel to face already eliminated Joe Public on Oct. 21. The top two teams in the four-team group will advance to the quarterfinals next spring. Former LA Galaxy forward Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez netted both goals for Municipal Wednesday at Estadio Mateo Flores, while Andy Iro accounted for the Crew’s lone tally. Day-long heavy rain continued through the match leaving the field with standing water in several places. Players struggled with footing and balls skipped in some spots and came to a halt in others.

‘SOCCER AID VIII’ AUCTIONS CONTINUE

Soccer Aid VIII auctions of unique and rare Crew jerseys continue online HERE. Soccer Aid is a unique, fund-raising program of the Crew Soccer Foundation that capitalizes on soccer fans’ passion for the sport to raise money for charity through the non-profit arm of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, including its primary beneficiary, the Mid-Ohio Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Through its first seven years, Soccer Aid has raised more than $35,000 for JDRF. This year the jerseys reflect a historic theme, in celebration of the club’s 15th anniversary season. The overlapping auctions, which will continue into next week, can also be accessed through CrewSoccerFoundation.org and TheCrew.com.

PLAYOFF PACKAGES ARE ON SALE NOW

The Crew clinched its third consecutive playoff berth last Saturday, Oct. 2, and two-game playoff ticket packages are on sale now. Each package includes both of the Crew’s potential playoff games – the one guaranteed game in the first round and the Eastern Conference Championship it could host if it advances out of the first round – along with a commemorative scarf. Prices range from $40-$76 for adults and $30-$76 for students, and they are available to the general public at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 800-745-3000 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com. The design of this year’s scarf was selected through fan voting at TheCrew.com.